Staff backlash ends Centrelink plan to use stopwatches to time client calls

Centrelink's Bunbury office told staff that team leaders would time their customer calls with a stopwatch.

ABC: Laura Gartry

A plan to monitor staff efficiency at a West Australian Centrelink office by making them use stopwatches to time calls with clients has been scrapped after a backlash.

In an email from management at the Bunbury office, about 200 staff were told team leaders would monitor their customer calls with a stopwatch.

The measure had been due to be introduced last week but was abandoned after staff complained to the union.

The email, obtained by the ABC, told staff: "As of today, all team leaders will be utilising a stopwatch during quality call listening to be able to accurately reflect the length of your talk time and work time during a call."

"This will allow us to link our observations to all other available information to get a better understanding of what constitutes efficient and effective service delivery (regardless of what statistical data may indicate).

"The reasoning for this is to be able to link the calls that you are taking in with the data that is reflected in the smart centre performance tool."

Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) organiser Rory Lambert said the measure was insulting to staff, who were already under increasing pressure from heavy workloads.

"They have been pressured to cut the times and number of calls taken," he said.

"They felt they didn’t need the added pressure of a supervisor clicking a stopwatch and taking notes.

"They felt it was an added insult for them to be so micromanaged."

He said staff had immediately contacted the union to express their opposition.

"There was no consultation with staff on the use of stopwatches, just an email announcing the program would begin," he said.

"Staff immediately contacted the CPSU and told us how upset they were."

The Department of Human Services denied the stopwatch proposal was meant to intimidate staff.

"It was proposed locally in Bunbury to use a stopwatch to capture information rather than using the staff member’s computer screen and was in no way intended to intimidate staff," a spokesperson said in a statement to the ABC.

"The proposal was set aside following feedback from a small number of staff and the use of stopwatches never commenced in the Bunbury Smart Centre.

"The department is committed to providing a supportive workplace and the feedback to and from staff plays an important role in this."